Holiday place in Spain ? do you think it will be a good investment.. longer term ?

No offence guys but I think some of you didn't read the original post. We are not debating how much money we would have lost by buying at the peak of the market 5-6 years back.The posted was asking about buying nowadays. If he's buying a property for say 125k now that was originally 350-400k then he's not going to be losing that kind of money on it unless he paid off his mortgage and sold for zero which is not going to happen, some of the knocked down prices aren't much more than you could sell the bricks and mortar. Ok he's not going to be making capital gains for a few years but he's not going to be losing that kind of money even in a worst case scenario.

The Costa is always going to be popular for holidays, it's 2 hours from the UK, flights are still cheap and regular, 300 days sunshine, world class golf and close to Gib which still has a thriving economy and buoyant job market, so if you have a good place, bought at a good discounted price and in a good location you are going to do ok.

And ZX, you sound a bit bitter and I probably would be too if I'd thrown away that much cash in rent, but don't insinuate that I am cheating the tax man, I am fortunate enough to not need to rent my house out. But I know people that do (legally) and they tell me that they do ok out of it.

 I am very glad to hear that you know people who legally rent out their property rockinrodders.  Unfortunately, I don't know any ex pats who let our their homes and have all licences and pay all taxes.  I know a lot who rent out and who don't pay taxes.  Unfortunately.

And 300 years of sunshine, which is great - but only 8 weeks of peak rent I am afraid.    Like I say, if you want to buy - buy, but don't expect to make a killing any time soon - either by selling on or through rent.

I think renting is very messy in another country problems all the way I could tell you storys that would make the hair stand on the back of your neck....just keep it for yourself and family and don't sell now wait until the tide turn.....

I think  cost of living and availability to most Spanish Regions of low cost flights is an important factor. Looking at Jet2 for Easter £135 each return and thatsbusy time schools hols etc. The cost of a few beers each night in the resort.. Last Year we went to Murcia many bars 3 Euro for 2 pints . In France on the way to Spain most bars were charging 4 Euros for one pint .. soon mounts up. 

Fuel in Spain is much cheaper . In fact one week in Spain would cost us less than a week in a cottage in the Lakes... Where can you hire a car for 65 euros a week...  Spain of course..  at least the recession has forced these prices down to the benefit of many.  so its not all doom and gloom.

We have a motorhome and purchased two lovely lounger chairs to sit outside in the Sun... only been able to use them three times in 2 years in the UK in this horrible weather.

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I think rent is not important if you you buy a place in Spain have the dosh and keep it for yourself and never rent it, some friends of mine rented out the Apartment and had a lot of problems with the tennants, so my advice is don't .........

Whether you rent your holiday home or not, apart from IBI tax you will still be taxed as if you are renting it out.

Whatever...  its called "imputed income tax" ; the point I am making is that there are 2 non resident taxes to pay for holiday home owners and some seem not to be aware of it.

No there is one, the non residents property tax.

If one lets,  then there is income tax on the income.

Of course there are municiple taxes on all property too.

Obviously there are 2 , counting IBI!

Whenever anyone asks about  how many non resident taxes the answer given in the media is-2. No need to be pedantic!

Its not just about paying tax or not paying tax renting out or not renting its also about "investing in a quality of lifestyle" for yourself and your family.

There are millions of people all over Europe wandering how long this winter is going to last.  How nice it would be to jump on a low cost flight and spend a few days where the weather is almost guaranteed to be warm and possibly sunny in april. Its no wonder the Spanish generally like to stay in Spain for holidays. Can you imagine them saying .. "we cant wait to have our two weeks in England" at Blackpool and Skegness." for the beach we need to bring, wind break, coats wellies, and a tub of  lard to greace ourselves down before we hit the sea. Then we will head for town and sample some local beers and sit outside under a gass lit heater among the smokers.   Dont think we will be buying any duty free. When we get back to work they will all say " Wow you look white" have a good time at skeggers ? 

Its a question of how long those Brits who fancy a place in the SUN are prepared to wait, could be years till the market turns but for some who cares ? 

Dear All

here in the South East we always used to get many Italians and Spanish summer visitors fleeing the heat, though it now seems to be less so.

Perhaps austerity is kicking in for the majority?

Regards

Norman

I'm right in the middle of buying a property in the Alicante area. The process is having lots of ups and downs, but I'm confident it will work out in the end.

Is it a good investment? Only time will tell.

However, the bottom line is, I don't really care. For all my life I've wanted to some day have a place in Spain, first to use as a holiday home and later maybe for retirement. So because I'm not planning to sell it, the development of its value doesn't really matter much to me. What matters much more is, do you think the price represents value for money?

You don't actually give any details but from observation if you have paid today's going rate for something suitable then it is generally difficult to see the market dropping much further.

but of course if the banks collapse and mortgages are a distant memory????

If you have what you want at a price you can afford then why worry......enjoy your dream.

Regards

Norman

I'm right in the middle of buying a property in the Alicante area. The process is having lots of ups and downs, but I'm confident it will work out in the end......Would you still buy this house in your own country if you had all these ups and downs going on? if you are getting so many problems now, and you haven't even bought it yet. Will you get just as many when you own it?

Is it a good investment? Only time will tell......Bricks and mortar are still the best investment any ordinary working class person can buy, as to is it a good investment in Spain, your 100% correct, only time will tell.

However, the bottom line is, I don't really care. For all my life I've wanted to some day have a place in Spain, first to use as a holiday home and later maybe for retirement. So because I'm not planning to sell it, the development of its value doesn't really matter much to me. What matters much more is, do you think the price represents value for money? .....Be a good idea if you said the price before anyone can answer is it value for money.

What I meant was, do I think the price is right for what I'm getting? maybe in two years time the price might be down another x percent. But then I've had the pleasure of owning this property in the intermediate 2 years. Why is it that people fret over property losing value, yet when they buy a new car that loses 20% of its value the moment they drive it off the dealership's forecourt, they just take it on the chin? If you can't tolerate losing any value at all, then you shouldn't be doing anything with real estate.

A lot of this fretting over value comes from people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. I can afford this house. I like this house.  I have (or can borrow) the money to afford this house. It makes me happy to spend my money on this house. I think that's the best reason for buying.

You cannot time the market. Take it from somebody who has tried. But I've made some fair margins in dealing with stocks over the years. I never managed to buy at the bottom and never to sell at the top but then I never strived to be the best trader on the market. I normally held onto my shares for 6 months to 2 years and was happy if I made 6 to 20 percent per deal. Sometimes I made 180%. Sometimes I lost 60%. But in the balance I made much more than I lost. I still made much more than i was getting on a savings account at the bank or on a pension fund or similar, and that's all that matters. What does it matter if somebody else is making more than you if you are making enough. What does it matter if in hindsight you could have made more if you'd bought or sold some weeks or months earlier or later. Prices may tank further. But they will come back. So why try to hit the absolute bottom of the market and fail (as you will only know it was genuinely the bottom retrospectively)

As for this house. I'm not seeing it as an investment as I don't want to sell it. So it would be nice if values skyrocketed, but frankly it doesn't make much difference as I wouldn't sell it no matter what it was worth. Maybe it will make whoever I will leave it to happy, but that's not my concern now.